William b



(No Model.)

W. B. ERSKINE.

NEGKSGARF.

Patented Jan. 20, 1891.

m: uonms PETER! co, PMOTO-LI?HO., wAsmm-rcm, u. c.

WILLIAM B. ERSKINE, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO JOHN ERSKINE & (30., OF SAME PLACE.

N ECKSCARF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 445,137, dated January 20, 1891. Application filed July 21, 1890. Serial No. 359,419. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM l3. ERSKINE, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Four-in-I-Iand Scarfs, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof.

My invention relates exclusively to what are known as four-in-hand scarfs, in which there is a narrow neck portion or band and a Wide scarf portion proper, the latter being from two to three times as wide as the former.

It consists in an improved form or construction of such a scarf.

The principal objects which my invention is designed to secure are, first, economy in the manufacture of the scarf, resulting from a more economical method of weaving or knitting and folding and finishing the scarf; second, increased durability in the article itself third, superior neatness and finish and beauty in the same, and, fourth, reversibility of the scarf, enabling both sides of the scarf to be used, the two sides being made, if de ired, of different styles of fabrics or of different colors or of different designs, or all three.

Hitherto, so far as I am informed, four-i11- hand scarfs have always been made from straight or flat woven fabrics by cutting the material into the proper shape and then turning over the raw edges and sewing them at the same time that the lining is applied, or by sewing two similarly-shaped pieces together at the edges, so as to make a reversible scarf, or by folding a single piece upon itself longitudinally and sewing the edges. It is apparent that in this method of making such a scarf a large amount of material is lost in the cutting, and considerable time and skill are consumed and required in cutting and folding the material in the proper manner. .Theedges, or at least one entire edge, of the scarf, are formed by seams, which mar the general appearance and finish of the ar ticle, and which are also liable to rip out, thus making the scarf unfit for use.

My improved scarf is made in the following manner, reference being made in the description for the purpose of better illustration to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a piece of the material or tubing from which the scarf is made. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the tubing near the beginning of the neck portion of the scarf, illustrating the manner in which the tubing is folded in making the scarf. Fig. 3 is a transverse section showing the form or construction of the scarf after the tubing has'been folded and the edges 6 e have been sewed together by blind-stitching, the stitching in this figure being greatly exaggerated in size, so as to indicate more clearly its general charaeter. Fig. atis a plan View of the scarf after it is finished, the ends being broken away, and showing in dotted lines the position of the folds in the tubing and the lines of stitching.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the different figures.

I will first describe my method of making the scarf, from which description the form and construction of the completed scarf will also be clearly understood. This method consists of a number of steps, which I will describe in their order. The first step is the weaving or knitting of the material for the scarf. This material is woven or knitted in long lengths on any suitable loom or knitting machine in a single piece in the form of a continuous tube of substantially uniform diameter. The diameter of the tube is made just equal to the width which is desired in the broader or end portions of the scarf, which may be termed the scarf portions proper. After a long piece of tubing is made in this way it is cut up into single scarf lengths by any suitable means. The material is then in the form of a seamless tubular fabric of substantially uniform diameter. The form or appearance of this tubing is represented in perspective in Fig.1, being marked by the letter a.

As the method of weaving orknitting fabric in the form of a tube upon an ordinary Jacquard loom or knitting-machine is old and well known, I will not describe herein how such weaving or knitting is done, or the construction of the loom or the knitting-machine, it being sufficient to say that I weave or knit my tubing in the form of a tube in the Wellknown way upon the well-known machines.

The second step of my method is the folding and pressing of the tubing a. The tubing is folded in at the central portion of each scarf and at no other part-that is to say, only at the part which is intended to pass around the collar of the wearer, and which maybe termed the neck portion or bandin the manner illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3,by pressing or forcing in the opposite sides of the tubing by any suitable means alonglines at the opposite ends of the same diameter and parallel with the axis of the tube. The neck portions of the scarf in these two figures are marked b. By this simple method of folding the tubing it is formed at once and by a single operation into a four-in-hand scarf, with broad scarf portions and a narrow neck portion or band. hen the tubing is pressed in in the manner described, the two inner folds c c and the folds along the edgesc 6 (clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3) are formed at one and the same time and the upper edge e coincides with or comes immediately over the lower edge e as a natural result of the method of folding and without requiring any special or careful adjustment. As both sides or faces of the neck portion or band are formed by the same act of folding, they coincide in width and shape or contour, and do not require special measurement and care to secure this result. The part of the scarf which joins the neck portion with the scarf portion assumes the proper shape or curve almost of itself as the necessary re sult of the pressing in of the tubing at the neck portion. The scarf portion proper is without any seams. The scarf is then pressed, which flattens it out and gives to it its final and proper shape, as shown in Fig. 3. The position ofthe folds c'c afterthe'pressing of the scarf is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3. d d in'this figure, as also in Fig. at, represent the ends of the scarf or what might be termed the scarf portions proper.

The third step of my method is the fastening in place of the folds in the neck portion of the scarf. This can be done in a Variety of ways.

I have shown one method in Fig. 3, which consists in sewing the folds or edges e e of the scarf together by blind-stitching'f, which of course also holds the inner folds o c in place and prevents their unfolding. This blind-stitching f is shown as greatly exaggerated in Fig. 3. The ends of the scarf are then sewed or finished in any suitable way, and the scar-f is complete and ready for the market.

If it is thought desirable, a lining may be inserted in my improved scarf to give it additional weight or body.

M y scarf can be made of any suitable material and in fast colors, so that it can be washed and used as long as the material will wear.

In my improvement the production ofthe tubing costs no more than the same amount of material would cost if woven in the old Way-that is to say, in the form of straight or fiat fabric. There is no cutting to be done, except the cutting of the long-length tubing into single-scarf lengths, and therefore no skilled labor is required for this purpose. No material is cut and wasted. All the material is left in the scarf and tends to give it Weight or body. The folding at the neck portion is ver sim )le in character. No raw'ed es of 3 1 material have to be folded there in more or less difficult curves, and there is no matching of one folded edge with another to be done, as in the old forms of four-in-hand scarfs. Only two seams, if any, have to be sewed in making the scarf,in addition to sewing and fin-' ishing the ends "of the scarf, and these can be easily and quickly sewed and require no special skill. These seams are short, occurring only in the neck portion and the connecting parts between that portion and the scarf portion proper. The scarf portion is seamless. As a result of these facts my improvement cheapens the cost of the scarf materially.

My scarf is more durable, because it is made in a single piece. There are never morethan.

two short seams in it, excepting the seams at the ends, whereas in the old form of scarf there were quite a number of long seams which were apt to rip out in parts after but little use. For the same reason my scarf can be washed, and thus used a number of times,

whereas in the old form of scarf it Was prac-- tically impossible to wash the scarf, by reason, among other things, of the long seams, as in Washing and pressing the thread in some of the seams would become rotten or broken. My scarf is also reversible.

My scarf is not only reversible, but it can be made of different materials, colors, and designs or effects on its two sides. The utility of this feature is apparent. In effect it gives the wearer two scarfs in one. A light scarf and a dark scarf might thus be combined in one.

My improved scarf is also superior in appearance, as well as durability, to the old forms of four-in-hand scarfs, for the reason that the scarf portion proper, from which the sailor-knot is made, is entirely seamless. No seam whatever appears in the knot or depending part of the scarf on either edge to marits appearance.

Hitherto four in-hand scarfs have always had a seam on one or both sides of the scarf portion, which has greatly detracted from their general appearance and finish. My

improved scarf does not have this defect, but is seamless and has a perfect and unbroken finish at the edges.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

As an article of manufacture, a four-inhand scarf comprising a seamless tubular fabric of substantially uniform diameter, having its central portion at opposite sides infolded and the edges of such infolds secured together, whereby a scarf having wide seamless outer ends and a narrow central or band portion is formed, substantially as described.

' WILLIAM B. ERSKINE. Witnesses:

ROBERT N. KENYON,

CHARLES V. ERSKINE. 

